Over on LibraryThing, there’s a discussion going on about the five best books everyone has read in 2011. (The discussion was inspired by the Millions’ great series, A Year in Reading.) When I looked back through my 2011 reads, I was surprised to find that there were exactly five books that I rated 5 stars. Usually, I am lucky to read one 5-star book in a year. Of course, three of these books were rereads, so the high rating is kind of a given. Still, I think they represent a good cross-section of what I like to read, and all of them are terrific books.
My favorite reads of 2011 were:
- Five Great Short Stories by Anton Chekhov — classic literature
- The Church of the Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns — thriller (reread)
- Brighten the Corner Where You Are by Fred Chappell — gentle fabulist fantasy (reread)
- A Room With a View by E.M. Forster — classic literature (reread)
- And my favorite book of the year: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (science fiction)
There were many books that just missed out on getting 5 stars; call them high 4′s. I would definitely recommend any of those books as well, so here they are:
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
- 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
- All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
- Anathem by Neal Stephenson
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
- Galileo’s Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Into the Wildby Jon Krakauer
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- The Ruins by Scott Smith
- The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
- Tinkers by Paul Harding
- The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
- The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
What were your favorite reads of 2011?
I’m glad to hear that 11/22/63 is as good as it sounds. There’s been nothing but positive reviews for it. It’ll probably be my first “doorstop” book of 2012
Comment by Teacher/Learner — December 19, 2011 @ 11:07 am
I’m getting ready to draft a favorites post, and I’m having a really hard time narrowing things down. I had a crap year in terms of numbers, but the quality was way way up. Decisions, decisions.
I enjoyed your lists very much and see lots of books I’d like to add to my own TBR.
Comment by Andi (Estella's Revenge) — December 19, 2011 @ 2:31 pm
Isn’t it better to read fewer books of higher quality? I’ve found my quality of reading has gone up too, since I’ve been keeping a blog and have gotten more thoughtful about my reading choices.
Comment by Shannon — December 19, 2011 @ 5:09 pm
11/22/63 is a big book but a quick read.
Comment by Shannon — December 19, 2011 @ 5:09 pm
I’ve been wanting to read The Sparrow for over two years, but I keep missing the opportunity. I just placed it on hold from the library, so I’m hoping to get to it in the very near future. I’m actually starting to get a bit nervous – I don’t think I’ve encountered a single reader who didn’t completely love it.
Comment by Biblibio — December 19, 2011 @ 10:51 pm
Biblibio – That would make me nervous too. Fortunately, I didn’t have such preconceptions. My best advice would be to give the story time to roll out. Russell takes her time but I think it is worth it.
Comment by Shannon — December 20, 2011 @ 9:57 am
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